Daily Worship

In search of Security

Fyfe January 21, 2016 0 0

Isaiah 55: 12-13

“So you’ll go out in joy,
    you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
    bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
    exuberant with applause.
No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
    no more thornbushes, but stately pines—
Monuments to me, to God,
    living and lasting evidence of God.”

It is no little thing to feel safe and secure in troublesome times or when everything seems to be shaking around us and can feel insecure. The outcome Isaiah speaks of and anticipated out of exile is coming home. A new exodus not in fear or or haste, but joy and peace. Indeed there will be a parade! God will lead the people into a new future. Home conjures up various images thistles and throws are images of life diminished by God’s judgement, but these now, negative and prickly evidences are dismissed and overcome, no longer needed or appropriate Now come signs of growth, life and beauty. It speaks of a healing of creation, signs of God’s new rule. All are now at home, safe, loved, free. In searching out of exile they find home for such wholeness is a reality.

Pray: 
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God's creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbours who are poor.
Amen.  [A Franciscan Benediction]